Hundreds of fast food and retail workers in Chicago walked off their job Wednesday in a campaign to push for higher wages.
The Fight for $15 campaign said it expects McDonald’s, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, Macy’s, Sears and Victoria’s Secret stores in the Loop and Magnificent Mile to be affected.
The strike began around 5:30 a.m. at the McDonald’s inside Union Station. A rally is planned for 4 p.m. at the St. James Cathedral near Huron and Rush streets.
Employees will march in the Chicago Loop and near the Mag Mile shopping area and call for $15-an-hour.
In addition to higher pay, Fight for $15 is pushing to organize a union for workers so they can support their families, and put money back into the economy.
The group said, “Fast food and retail workers bring more than $4 billion a year into the cash registers of the Magnificent Mile and the Loop, yet most of these workers earn Illinois’ minimum wage of $8.25, or just above it.”
The Chicago Tribune contributed to this report